Best anchor for......?

[Shlbyntro]

Well it happened. I knew it would eventually but damn you always hate to cut an anchor, especially when it's your first time

I was out in my Formula with some friends today and after several hours of floating and slowly drifting with 2 anchors out we decided to pull up anchor and reposition when I realized that my claw anchor hooked an underwater cable or something of the likes. After 20min of spinning around and pulling different directions I called it and handed my buddy a knife to cut the line.

I was in about 75 feet of water and total loss including the anchor and about 10ft of chain was less than $200 so it wasn't worth marking and sending a diver after it.

So now I am trying to figure out what to replace it with. What do the inmates think as to type of anchor and how much chain would you run???

Boat weighs 15k+ and it will be attached to my windless on the pulpit. I regularly anchor in 50ft but sometimes up to 100ft with steep grades under water. There are a shit ton of cables and other underwater hazards all over the lake as well as regular winds. Ideally Im looking for something that can still hold the boat but is less prone to hooking lines. Also thinking maybe less chain may help with this as well??? So thoughts on that too.

Thanks in advance!

 

[4Waters]

What lake was this at?

 

[Runs2rch]

I think you probably just got unlucky. Almost any anchor hooking a cable will be hard to unhook. Sounds like you tried everything.

Fortress/Guardian or Danforth. 200 ft of rope no chain is what I run.

 

[Shlbyntro]

Lake Travis. I was thinking Danforth/Delta as well but will require installing hinging bow roller on my boat. They're definitely pretty anchors but I have no first hand experience using them. Do they still do a descent job with only rope and no chain?

 

[Runs2rch]

Lake Travis. I was thinking Danforth/Delta as well but will require installing hinging bow roller on my boat. They're definitely pretty anchors but I have no first hand experience using them. Do they still do a descent job with only rope and no chain?

Yes they hold well. The Fortress has the adjustment also for better holding in mud. I have been in many bad storms, only throwing my second anchor out once. Mainly for peace of mind. Never an issue without the chain.

 

[rrrr]

Yes they hold well. The Fortress has the adjustment also for better holding in mud. I have been in many bad storms, only throwing my second anchor out once. Mainly for peace of mind. Never an issue without the chain.

The Fortress kicks butt. If you have an anchor rode set up properly with a 6' chain and use a 5:1 scope, it'll hold on just about any bottom. They're aluminum, fairly lightweight and easy to handle.

They will hold well without a chain on most bottoms, you might need to increase the scope.

 

[WhatExit?]

Didn't want to try a free dive down the anchor line? It was "only 75 feet"

J/K

 

[Motor Boater]

I bought this digger anchor about 15 years ago and still have it. Works awesome! Some of our local lake have rocky bottoms and anchors get stuck under a rock and you can’t retrieve it. This anchor unhinges with a quick yank and pulls out of anywhere. There was a group of us that bought them and everyone still has there’s.

 

[Jed-O]

Use an engine block. They don't hook up on shit. Good luck pulling that heavy piece of shit back up though.

 

[4Waters]

Use an engine block. They don't hook up on shit. Good luck pulling that heavy piece of shit back up though.

I was going to say 455 olds

 

[Jed-O]

I was going to say 455 olds

Best anchor ever! Just make sure you leave it at the bottom! Nobody needs that pile!

 

[4Waters]

Best anchor ever! Just make sure you leave it at the bottom! Nobody needs that pile!

A friend worked at a Ford dealer and a lube tech didn't put oil in a customer's truck, locked up solid. He used that as an anchor point on the lower river.

 

[BajaMike]

Sounds like you are doing everything right! And you got a lot of years from your anchor. Lake Travis has steep sides and lots of cables underwater. I would use the same setup you used before.

 

[BajaMike]

A friend worked at a Ford dealer and a lube tech didn't put oil in a customer's truck, locked up solid. He used that as an anchor point on the lower river.

A lot of the resort moorings in the BVI and Bahamas use engine blocks to tie down their commercial moorings. Heavy is great, except if you need to pull it up and down. Many of those mooring have survived hurricanes.

 

[Shlbyntro]

I have this out of my Ultra.... will that work??

 

[Riverbottom]

Danforth with chain. Pretty hard to beat.

 

[rrrr]

Best anchor ever! Just make sure you leave it at the bottom! Nobody needs that pile!

The better idea is to sink the jet bote along with the 455.

 

[Jed-O]

The better idea is to sink the jet bote along with the 455.

"Have you tried a different prop? Oh wait, I'm sorry I just looked at the transom. You'll be better off dude. Just let her go down and I promise nobody will say anything... "

 

[Shlbyntro]

"Have you tried a different imp?"

Fixed it for you.

 

[Shlbyntro]

Free insurance take off. 35lb Lewmar Delta. Price is right so I'm gonna with it.

Of course, it it was a take off for a reason